The Bell of the Ball
by silly pancake22
Summary: Its the annual Wayne Manor Masquerade and Dick is destined to sweep Barbara off her feet! Things don't go quite as he plans, he finally works up the courage to tell Babs how he feels and then...


Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson (Batgirl and Nightwing) © DC

story © Amanda C.

Bell of the Ball

The clock had just struck 8 p.m as Barbara sat looking at herself in the mirror, she powdered her nose several more times and took a few long slow breaths. She looked down at her dress, it was the only ball gown she had ever worn in her 22 years of life, it fit like a glove and yet she couldn't shake the feeling that she and the dress were not meant to be. Nevertheless, she had to wear it, after all, it was the annual Wayne Manor masquerade ball, Barbara had no choice but to attend.

In the social circle of Mr Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon was a somebody and as a result of that, she was obligated to be by his side, both as an aspiring young woman who served as his interning computer engineer by day and his ass-kicking sidekick, Batgirl, by night. But tonight she would be putting on a different kind of mask, one that was dressed with feathers and gems, lined with real gold and lace, it matched her ball gown perfectly and the dress amplified her fair skin and her long auburn hair that was dawned with a soft curl. She took the mask in her hands and stared down at it, she felt that it was designed for a princess or even a queen, which she certainly was not! Her hands hesitated when she tried to place it on her face, but alas, the mask formed to her cheeks, it fit like a dream… is that what this all was? A dream?

Suddenly a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. It was the voice of the dear butler Alfred. "Ms. Gordon, the guests are asking for you, are you alright?" She let out one last sigh "Well this is it!" she mumbled to herself. She stood up and spun around a little to show Alfred her gown. "You look marvelous" He said, giving her a slight nod of the head. Barbara slowly walked out of her room in the Wayne Manor and down the long spiraling stair case.

All eyes in the room turned to her with awe, it was as if a spell had been cast on them. She gave the room an awkward smile and searched the room for one familiar face that always brought her comfort. Several unknown men were trying to persuade her to dance, but she politely denied, she was in no mood to dance with a horny stranger, she had seen many of these men on the news before; all of them were wealthy and many a time gotten caught for buying into prostitution, but of course, they never went to prison. These were the criminals that she often feared were above the power of the law because of their money, but they weren't above the power of Batman. In fact much of the reason that Bruce invited these wealthy scum was to observe them, learn their weaknesses so to easily take them down when 'Batman' had the chance.

She saw Bruce out of the corner of her eye and walked over to him, he was talking to some very beautiful women who stood in awe at his dashing good looks. "And this is Barbara, a very promising computer engineer, I would simply DIE if Barbara were not living here, helping me with all my high tech computer programs!" He praised her so highly. "Humph" the women said in unison, sticking their noses up at the silly little red-head dressed in a froofy golden dress. Barbara took that as her cue to leave, she made her way towards the refreshments, picking up a few hors d'oeuvres along the way. Just as she was about to pop one of the hors d'oeuvres in her mouth she heard that very familiar voice…

"Hey whats that!" Although he was wearing a mask, she knew exactly who he was. He snatched the snack right out of her hand and popped it in his own mouth. "Dick!" She yelped! "Don't worry, its not poisonous, I checked!" Barbara rolled her eyes. "Your such a pest!" "I love you too Babs!" He smiled at her with a cheesy grin. Dick Grayson may have been a pest at times, but Barbara couldn't deny two things, Dick was an excellent crime fighter, he spent many a night fighting along side Barbara as the famous Nightwing, and the second thing was that he sure knew how to clean up nicely. He looked as handsome as she had ever seen him, even in a mask, he wore a fitted white jacket with white slacks, gold buttons and blue velvet cuffs. His dark brown hair was tousled back, away from his face, and he smelled of pricey cologne, which he probably stole from Bruce.

Bruce had been like a father to Dick ever since his parents suffered a tragic death in the circus. Yet Dick was always so cheerful, since the day they met, he never failed to bring a smile to her face. "Look at all these rich yuppies" said Dick, taking another bite of Barbara's hors d'oeuvre as he continued "They think they're all that!". "Y'know, your kind of a rich yuppy too, Dick, being Bruce's adopted son and all." Barbara stated. "Y-Yeah, but you don't think I'm stuck up…." he glanced over "Do you?". Barbara was always a sucker for Dick's puppy dog eyes. "No, of course not, your nothing like these snobs." Barbara smiled at him.

Dick's face lit up, "Hey you wanna dance?" Barbara chuckled at his question, "Dick, you have two left feet!". "So is that a no?" He sulked. After seeing the disappointment appear on his face, she had a sudden change of heart. "Sure, why not!" She said as she took Dick's hand and walked him out onto the dance floor. He began to sway her gently, taking a step back and then a step forward, he was trying his best to avoid stepping on her toes; about 5 minutes into their dance he built up the confidence to twirl her around. She had to admit, he was doing a pretty good job, his rhythm may have been totally off, but in an odd way, he was sweeping her off her feet; as he twirled her in towards him he grabbed hold of her waist tightly and pressed it against him, which sent shivers down her spine. As their dance was nearing its end he whispered softly into her ear "Will you walk with me somewhere?"

She didn't even have to answer, her body turned to mush in his hands and she followed him as lightly as a feather as he led her towards the balcony. Dick leaned over the railing and took a deep breath in, Barbara stood several feet behind him, her heart was beating so fast she felt as if she might pass out at any moment. Then Dick turned to her "Barbara…" And just like that, Barbara hit the floor, out like a light. Several hours later she awoke, the back of her head felt like there were needles being pushed into it. Her vision was blurry at first, but began to get clearer with every blink; she looked around at her surroundings, she wasn't in her bedroom, nor was she in any of the guest bedrooms in the house, infect, she was in Dick's bedroom, laying on his very bed, and as she looked up she saw none other than Dick's face staring back at her.

"..Hey." She said softly, trying to sit up. "You should stay laying down, Alfred says you don't want to tear the stitches apart." He gently pushed her body back down onto the bed and covered her with a blanket. "The stitches?" She asked in a confused tone. "Yeah, you sure are a clumsy one." He laughed as he pushed a stray piece of hair away from her face, it was then that she noticed that she was no longer wearing her mask, and she looked down to see that she wasn't wearing her ball gown either, she only was wearing one of Dick's ratty t-shirts. She blushed a bright shade of pink but covered her face with the blankets, hoping Dick wouldn't see. "Clumsy?" She mumbled from under the covers. "Yeah, and not to mention your timing is terrible…" He stated in a somewhat frustrated tone. "What are you talking about?" "It figures that right as I'm about to confess my love for you, you'd pass out cold and bang your head on the concrete…" He chuckled. "C-Come again?"

Barbara couldn't believe what she had just heard, did he really just drop the "L" word? "You heard me Babs, I finally worked up the courage to tell you how I really feel and you go and nearly crack your head open!" Barbara sat up in the bed, ignoring the major head rush it had given her, "Y-you have feelings for me?" She was turning redder by the minute. "Duh…" Dick said in a blunt tone, "I always have, why else do you think I act like such a dufus around you?".

Barbara paused for a minute as she gathered her thoughts, she had never identified her feelings for Dick as being love, but perhaps she had just been denying it this whole time; she did indeed love him for all that he was she had just never come to terms with herself. "Look, Babs, I understand if you don-" She hushed him and leaned in close to his face and said "But I do." She cracked him a small smile. Dick pounced on top of her and pulled her into a tight hug, he nestled his head into her shoulder and let out a sigh of relief. "Be careful! The Stitches!" She chuckled as she wriggled out from underneath his grasp. "Oh, right!" He rubbed the back of his neck with embarrassment. She chuckled at his antics, then she reached up and wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him into kiss her. He weighted himself by placing his arms on either side of her as he pressed his lips firmly against hers.

Then Barbara noticed something, Dick was still wearing his mask and suit. She started by removing the mask first then moved on to unbuttoning his jacket and shirt and removing them; she did the same with his pants until he remained only in his undershirt and boxers. She slid her hand across his chest until Dick grasped a hold of it, he kissed it softly "I think we better get some sleep." He kissed her lips one last time and then laid down beside her on the bed. "G'night!" she said, hugging him softly and snuggling her face into his chest. Dick wrapped his arms around her tightly and the two dozed off to sleep.

On the other side of the door, Alfred stood with his ear against the door taking to Mr. Bruce Wayne. "Well sir, I reckon he finally did it!" Alfred nodded with satisfaction. "Did what! What did Dick do now?" Bruce interrogated in a concerned tone. "At ease, Master, he has simply confessed to Ms. Gordon that he loves her." "What a foolish thing to do…" Bruce rolled his eyes, "Now they'll both have a reason to be distracted from their duties.." "Oh but sir, you had to see this coming, the poor boy was miserable trying to keep his feelings bottled up, and besides, we both know that their love for each other will never amount to the fear they have for you." Alfred stated. Bruce couldn't help but chuckle at this, for he knew it was true. "But Alfred, do you recommend that I let them sleep in the same room?" "Why of course sir, after all, they aren't children!" Alfred proclaimed. "Your right, their old enough now…" Bruce began walking back towards the staircase to return to the party. Then Alfred said "However, I refuse to take responsibility for any baby bats or baby birds that may result from this decision." Bruce froze in his tracks, and let out a giant gulp of fear. "Grandpa Bruce…" Alfred taunted."Shut up…" Said Bruce.

end.

Thanks for reading! I apologize for the format issue before. I thought I had fixed it but I guess the change never saved. So as of 4/29/14 There should no longer be any issues. However if there are, please notify me either with a review or with a message!


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